TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION H. 919 



being very plentiful in Indian corn-fields. Hudson saw (on the Hudson river) 

 'great quantity of maize and beans of the last year's growth ' (1625). 



Nuttall notices the growth of the Warted Squash on the Upper Missouri, and 

 Gray and Trumbull say it is well nigh certain that the species was cultivated in the 

 Mexican and Texan countries by the aborigines. Pumpkins and other Cucurbitacea 

 were evidently cultivated over a wide range : Cuba, Mexico, Texas, Virginia, 

 Florida, Appalachian country, Upper Missouri, Canada, St. Lawrence (Cartier), 

 Lake Huron (Sagard). 



What is known of the early history and use of the Jerusalem artichoke 

 {Helianthus tuberosum) is given by Mr. Trumbull in ' American Journal of Science,' 

 3rd series, vol. xiii. pp. 349-352", and by Gray and Trumbull, vol. xxv. and xxvi. 

 Grown in the Minnesota and Saskatchewan regions by the Indians, it must have 

 been obtained by them from the valleys of the Ohio and Mississippi. Its near 

 "botanical ally, the sunflower (H. annum), was cultivated by the Hurons in their 

 towns near the south-eastern point of Georgian Bay for the oil of the seeds, which 

 they used for greasing their hair, as well as for food (Champlain, Sagard, 1610-1636). 

 Gray and Trumbull believe that this also must have been obtained from beyond 

 the Mississippi, and some degrees farther south. 



The hop (Humu/us lupulus), although undoubtedly indigenous to America, 

 and abundant in our North-West, being a common plant in Manitoba, is not known 

 to have been used for any purpose by the aborigines ; neither was the true potato 

 (Solatium tuberosum), a "native of Chili, cultivated by North American Indians, 

 although its aboriginal cultivation had extended as far north as New Granada. 

 Passiflora incarnata was cultivated for its fruit in Virginia. 



In a recent endeavour to trace the northern limit of the wild grape vine in 

 British America, no evidence was found of its having been cared for by the abori- 

 gines, but rather an indication that before the settlement of the country its range 

 as a spontaneous plant may have been more extensive than now. Dr. E. L. Sturte- 

 vant, however, has recently ('Botanical Gazette,' January 1884, vol. ix. p. 8) 

 called attention to the occurrence of Vitis Californica in rows near Fort Whipple, 

 in Arizona, as evidence that the ancient Pueblo Indians were in the habit of culti- 

 vating it; the great variability of V. Labrusca, in the direction of improved 

 varieties, he regards as evidence of the ancient cultivation of this species. 



Special reference was made to the papers of Professor Gray and Mr. Trumbull 

 in the ' American Journal of Science,' as sources of information. 



7. Exhibition of Photographs of Eskimo Relics. 

 By Lieutenant A. W. Greely, U.S.A. 



8. Habits and Customs of the Inn of the Western Shore and Point Barrow. 

 By Lieutenant P. H. Ray, U.S.A. 



The International Polar Station at Point Barrow, which I had the honour to 

 command, was established nine miles to the south and west of the extreme point, 

 and within one mile of the village of Ooglaamie, which was the native name given to 

 a small cluster of winter huts, whose population numbered about 130 souls all told. 



Noowook, or Cape, is the name given to a like village situated at the extreme 

 point, and it has a population of about 150. 



These people were first visited by white men in the year 1826, when the launch 

 of H.M.S. ' Blossom,' commanded by Mr. Elsen, succeeded in reaching Point Barrow, 

 and gave it the name it now bears ; it w r as visited by several vessels engaged in the 

 Franklin search from 1850 to 1854, and H.M.S. ' Plover,' Captain Maguire, wintered 

 in Port Moore, two miles to the eastward of the Point, from 1852 to 1854. They 

 have, been frequently visited by American whalers since, but no party had ever 

 wintered at the coast north of Behring Straits since the departure of the ' Plover ' 

 until the American expedition took up its quarters there. We landed early in 

 September 1881, and the few people we found there gave us valuable assistance in 

 getting our stores up from the beach ; and apart from a few cases of petty theft, 



